With a new collective bargaining agreement in hand, the average MLB franchise has seen nearly a 10% spike in overall value, according to the latest annual analysis by the business publication Forbes.
With the CBA in place after a 99-day lockout earlier this winter, team values are surging primarily due to projected new streams of income through jersey patches and helmet decals, the report said.
The wearable advertisements were set to go into effect next season.
The expansion of the playoff field from 10 to 12 teams is also helping to sweeten national TV rights deals, per Forbes reporters Mike Ozanian and Justin Teitelbaum, and local cable rights deals continue to drive considerable revenues for teams individually.
According to the list, the Giants rank fifth at $3.5 billion (10% increase from last year) and the A's rank 27th at $1.18 billion, which represents a 5% increase from last year.
As well, the eternally lucrative New York Yankees are now baseball's first $6 billion franchise, the report said, second only to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys globally.
Interestingly, the Texas Rangers made the biggest year-over-year jump at 15%, according to the survey, owing largely to their new ballpark, Globe Life Park, which opened in 2020 but has not yet hosted a full season's worth of home games owing to pandemic-related restrictions in both of its first two years in operation.
Rounding out the top 10 franchise valuations after the Yankees, were the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Cardinals, Phillies, Angels and Braves, the report said, with the surging Rangers coming in at 11th.
Bringing up the rear were both Florida franchises, the Rays and Marlins, though both teams finished in the black with operating incomes of $45 million and $25 million, respectively, according to Forbes.
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